Decisive Victories Saturday at IMS

INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, July 30, 2022) – Alexander Rossi and AJ Allmendinger both drove to victory Saturday in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and NASCAR Xfinity Series races, respectively, during Brickyard Weekend on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Rossi won the Gallagher Grand Prix to snap a 49-race winless streak, earning his first victory since capturing the NTT INDYCAR SERIES race June 23, 2019 at Road America, 1,133 days ago. This was Rossi’s eighth career victory.

“It’s a relief, man,” Rossi said. “It’s been so many things for so long. Thankfully something came our way.”

Andretti Autosport driver Rossi crossed the finish line in his No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda 3.5441 seconds ahead of rookie Christian Lundgaard, who earned a career-best second place in the No. 30 Shield Cleansers Honda.

Will Power finished third in the 85-lap race in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet and took the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship lead with just four races remaining. Power holds a nine-point lead over Marcus Ericsson, who rallied from starting last in the 25-car field to finish 11th in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Rossi, who started second, took the lead for good on Lap 42 when leader and teammate Colton Herta lost drive after navigating Turn 8 on the 11-turn, 2.439-mile road course in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.

Allmendinger earned his second consecutive victory at IMS by winning the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard in the No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet. He also won the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard NASCAR Cup Series race last August at IMS.

“God, I love Indy,” Allmendinger said. “At this point, points don’t mean a damn thing. We’re kissing the bricks.”

2013 Indianapolis 500 starter Allmendinger beat Alex Bowman’s No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet to the finish line by 2.084 seconds on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. Justin Allgaier, who won the Xfinity Series race in 2018 at IMS, finished third in the No. 7 BRANDT/Precision Build Chevrolet.

Allmendinger rallied from a slow pit stop on Lap 16 of the 62-lap race that dropped him from the lead to 14th place. He took the lead for good on Lap 45.

NASCAR Cup Series drivers were on track today for the first time this weekend, with Tyler Reddick earning the pole position for the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on Sunday. Reddick turned a top lap of 1 minute, 28.354 seconds in the No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet.

“It ended up being a good enough lap,” Reddick said. “This whole group did a really good job of preparing the last couple of weeks for this race.”

2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric will join Reddick in the front row for the 82-lap race Sunday after qualifying second at 1:28.606 in the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford.

The Verizon 200 at the Brickyard starts at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, with live coverage on NBC. Tickets are available at IMS.com.